Hybrid hydraulic fracturing fleet

ABSTRACT

A hydraulic fracturing system is disclosed as including a singular mobile platform of at least one mobile power unit (MPU) and at least one first switch gear that is configured to handle electric power from the MPU. The MPU is configured to generate voltage that matches the requirements of an electrical bus from the at least one switch gear such that a combined electrical current generated as a result of the generated voltage is provided to the electrical bus to the components of the hydraulic fracturing system. Further, the hydraulic fracturing system may include electrical fracturing equipment with at least one second switch gear to support the at least one first switch gear in handling electric power from the MPU. A datavan may be included in the system to control load shedding, load sharing, and power distribution for the electrical fracturing equipment comprising the at least one second switch gear.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present disclosure is related to U.S. Provisional Application62/658,257, titled HIGH HYDRAULIC HORSE POWER ELECTRIC HYDRAULICFRACTURING FLEET, filed on Apr. 16, 2018, the entirety of the disclosureof which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of Invention

The present disclosure generally relates to equipment used in thehydrocarbon industry, and in particular, to a system for use in oil andgas hydraulic fracturing operations.

2. Related Technology

Historically hydraulic fracturing fleets have consisted of blenders,hydration, chemical additive, datavan, sand equipment, and hydraulicfracturing pumps that are all diesel powered. More recently, electricpowered equipment has been introduced. Differing types of equipment maybe found co-existing at the same wellsite. Accordingly, different typesof equipment are expected to operate and function well together.

SUMMARY

The system of the present technology allows for diesel engine equipmentand electric motor equipment to operate and function together. Forexample, each piece of equipment can typically be categorized as eitherelectric or diesel powered. When the equipment is electric, then itreceives electricity from a power source, such as a generator or a powergrid. There may be one or more power sources running in parallel orrunning in separate micro-grids. This supports a redundant andinterchangeable architecture for a hybrid fracturing fleet of thepresent disclosure. Moreover, if needed, such as in the case of afailure, a piece of electric equipment can be removed and a diesel unitof the same function can be replaced quickly. Such a replacementoperation may occur, for example, in an emergency if no other suitableelectric equipment is available.

In addition, there are often multiple hydraulic fracturing pumps locatedat a wellsite, such as 16-24 or more units. These hydraulic fracturingpumps can all be electric, all be diesel, or be comprised of a mixtureof diesel and electric pumps. The ability to mix electric and dieselpumps at a site allows for a fleet to be much more versatile inaddressing different jobs that require different numbers of pumps. Insuch a setup, additional hydraulic horsepower can be added or taken awayvery quickly and easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some of the features and benefits of the present invention having beenstated, others will become apparent as the description proceeds whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an example block schematic of a hybrid fracturing fleet inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is another example block schematic of a connected environmentwithin hybrid fracturing fleets in accordance with other aspectsavailable in the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an example layout of a datavan to monitor and control withinhybrid fracturing fleets in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is an example method of providing a datavan capable of monitoringand controlling a hybrid fracturing fleet of embodiments herein.

While the invention will be described in connection with the preferredembodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit theinvention to that embodiment. Instead, the preferred embodiments areintended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, asmay be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

So that the manner in which the features and advantages of theembodiments of hydraulic fracturing system and associated methods, aswell as others, which will become apparent, may be understood in moredetail, a more particular description of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure briefly summarized previously may be had by reference to theembodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings,which form a part of this specification. It is to be noted, however,that the drawings illustrate only various embodiments of the disclosureand are therefore not to be considered limiting of the presentdisclosure's scope, as it may include other effective embodiments aswell.

The method and system of the present disclosure will now be describedmore fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich embodiments are shown. The method and system of the presentdisclosure may be in many different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In an embodiment, usageof the term “about” includes +/−5% of the cited magnitude. In anembodiment, usage of the term “substantially” includes +/−5% of thecited magnitude.

It is to be further understood that the scope of the present disclosureis not limited to the exact details of construction, operation, exactmaterials, or embodiments shown and described, as modifications andequivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art. In the drawingsand specification, there have been disclosed illustrative embodimentsand, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation.

While diesel fleets and electrical fleets may operate separately, thecapability to integrate these fleets is limited. Software capable ofoperating multiple electric fracturing pumps may not be able to operatediesel and electric fracturing equipment together using the existinghuman-machine or graphical user interfaces (HMI/GUI). A multi-pumpcontrol station provided within the datavan and the capability control,via a controller in the datavan, switching components of a switchgearassociated with both—electrical and diesel components enable anintegration, in accordance with an embodiment. The present hydraulicfracturing fleet can, therefore, operate any connected equipment thatwill allow fracturing fleets to reduce manpower, save space in thedatavan, and optimize pump rate coordination while making data loggingsimpler.

The multi-pump control station, via the controller executing a softwaremodule, is capable of using certain parameters as common and/ordistinguishing parameters for electrical and diesel connected equipment.Such parameters may include: maximum desired aggregate pump rate;maximum desired wellhead fluid pressure; maximum individual pump rate;maximum individual pump pressure; desired Temperature shutdowns formotor temps, hydraulic temps, electronic enclosure temps, etc. Further,software outputs provided to the fracturing pumps, via the switchgear,may include: motor revolutions per minute (RPM); start/shutdown commands(diesel-powered equipment); enable/disable variable frequency drive(VFD-electrical-powered equipment); open/close switchgear breaker(electrical-powered equipment); and Emergency Shutdown. Usingprogrammable logic controllers (PLCs), software inputs may be providedto the software module from fracturing pumps, including: sensor data(temperatures, pressures, valve positions, switch positions, rpms,vibration data, voltage, and amperage); alarm diagnostics; alarmconditions; and emergency shutdown. In addition, software output, suchas open/close instructions, from the software module may be provided tothe switchgear for control of the connected equipment. Software inputsmay also be provided to the switchgear for securing or instructing:open/close status; alarms; diagnostics; voltage; amperage; andfrequency. The software module may be accessible via the HMI/GUI and mayprovide information for and from: sensors data (temperature, pressures,valve positions, switch positions, rpms, vibration data, fluid rates);emergency shutdown status; breaker open/close status; gear(diesel-powered equipment); VFD status (electrical-powered equipment);for onboard alarms; onboard diagnostics; voltages; and amperages.

FIG. 1 is an example block schematic 100 of a hybrid fracturing fleetwith interchangeable infrastructure, excluding wellhead 102, forperforming hydraulic fracturing operations in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. In addition to the above, eachpiece of equipment 104-124 on a well site can be monitored andcontrolled from a datavan 104, which can also be located on-site. Theseare hybrid/interchangeable combination of components or equipment. In anexample, each piece of component 104-124 may be located on one or morevehicles representing the hydraulic fracturing fleets. This is the caseregardless of whether the particular piece of equipment 104-124 iselectric or diesel powered. Accordingly, the datavan is adapted orconfigured to engage an interchangeable combination of diesel-poweredcomponents and electric-powered components in an interchangeable manner.For example, the datavan is associated with switching components inswitchgear 112A for switching between the diesel-powered components andthe electric-powered components upon determination by the controller ofa type of a connected component (i.e., either diesel-powered orelectric-powered component). The datavan is also associated with controlor software module 104A executing on a controller or processor that isable to process received signals to monitor and provide instructionsrelating to switching requirements between the electrical and dieselcomponents, which instructions may be then enforced by the switchingcomponents of the switchgear 112A.

For example, if an electric pump 110 were to fail (e.g., due to atripped breaker, leaking valve, cooling issues, etc.), pump controlsoftware of the control module 104A can detect this due to digitalizedinputs provided to the software from a module monitoring the pump'sperformance. The monitoring may be also performed by the switch gearusing a relay that informs the control module 104A that it had to tripthe breaker. Alternatively, the pump 108 may include a programmablelogic controller (PLC) indicating a shutdown is in effect due to hightemperatures, or indicating that a shutdown was initiated by an onsitesensor that detected excessive vibrations in the fluid pump. A person ofordinary skill reading the present disclosure would recognize itsapplicability to many other reasons that may cause the shutdown, andwould be able to use the embodiments herein to address the other reasonsbased at least in part of many sensors other than the excessivevibration sensors. Components 104-124 may also include correspondingPLCs for providing information to a controller executing the controlmodule (including the pump control software). The control module 104A,by its pump control software, may then safely shutdown and lockout thepump using specific digitalized instructions, and may automaticallyinstruct, by similar digitalized commands, such as a start-up command,the starting of a standby fracturing pump. The digitalized signals maybe converted to analog using a digital to analog converter and may beused to control connected components via the switchgear. The controlmodule 104A may be configured to display sensor information and controlsto the pump control operator. Further, the present disclosure supportsusing automation between the control module 104A and the switchgear 112Ato initiate a fracturing pump to pick up lost fluid rate from a pumpthat failed, for instance, without further intervention, so that anaggregate of the fleet-wide fluid rate remains substantially as it wasbefore the pump failed.

The switching components in switchgear 112A may be transfer-switchingcomponents that are configured to collaborate with the control module104A in the datavan for switching between components depending on amonitored signal—that the component is failed or became inactive, forinstance. In a further example, if a component is not drawing a steadycurrent or is not on a steady voltage, a determination in the controlmodule 104A is that the component is improperly functioning and aback-up component or an electric or diesel alternative may be brought onboard. The switching components may include a relay associated with theswitchgear 112A. The relay may include a monitor that determines aconnected load. The connected load may include voltage, current, andfrequency information, and may additionally monitor for anomalies. Ananomaly monitored by the control module 104A may cause a breakerassociated with the switching components to open indicating theabnormality. In an example, the relay is also configured to inform thedatavan 104 that an electric unit 104-124 has failed and is alsoconfigured to signal a standby diesel or electric unit (e.g., back-ups114, 124) to take its place in the control equipment residing with thedatavan 104.

In an example, information from connected sub-components withinequipment or connected components 104-124 may be sufficient to determineif a connected component is diesel-powered or electric-powered. Forexample, a sub-component may be a processor unit, such as a programmablelogic controller (PLC), within each of the connected components that maycommunicate information about the connected component to the datavan. Inone instance, such information may include electrical signals—voltage orcurrent signals, understood to a person of ordinary skill, withdifferent ranges in each of the diesel-powered or electric-poweredinstances. In an example, the electrical signals are digitalized signalsfrom the connected components that first identify itself to the datavan.The identification may be picked up by corresponding control software inthe datavan. The control software is configured, as described throughoutthis disclosure, to parse the identification information to determinethe electric or diesel capability of the connected component. Further,the identification information may also provide controls or sensorinformation to display to the operators in the datavan. A person ofordinary skill would also know the type of input and expected ranges forthe components 104-124 described herein, and can determine how toprovide high and low alarms for these expected ranges.

Further, the diesel-powered components and the electric-poweredcomponents 104-124 include at least one back-up component (e.g.,reference numerals 116 and 124) that is either or both of diesel-poweredand electric-powered. Wireline equipment 106, hydraulic fracturing pumps108, 110, blenders 114, 116, hydration units 118, chemical additive unit120, sand equipment 122, and a boost pump 124 may be made available indiesel and electric alternatives. Furthermore, both of the diesel andelectric alternatives may be available for redundant (e.g., parallel)support, as previously discussed. In the redundant or parallel support,such electrical components may form a micro-grid. An electric powersource 112 provides power via a switchgear 112A and transformer 112B,depending on the power demand and quantity of components used to serviceone or more wellheads 102. A person of ordinary skill would recognizethat a single wellhead 102 is illustrated as an example, but additionalwellheads may be serviced in parallel or substantially in parallel bythe hybrid fracturing fleet of the present disclosure. The electricpower source 112 may include an overhead powerline, diesel generator, anatural gas engine generator, or multiple generators coupled inparallel.

FIG. 2 is an example block schematic 200 of a connected hybridfracturing fleet, excluding wellhead 202, for powering components withinthe fleet, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Inaddition to the above example in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 illustrates that eachpiece of equipment 204-228A-C on a well site can be monitored andcontrolled from a datavan 204, located on-site, but is also connected tothe internet for remote data operation. As in the case of the example inFIG. 1, each piece of component 204-228A-C, in this example, may belocated on one or more vehicles representing the hydraulic fracturingfleets. Monitoring may be by on-site cameras 228A, densometers 228B,sensors 228C, and by off-site information 228D provided to instruct thecontrols in the datavan, for instance. This is the case regardless ofwhether the particular piece of equipment 204-228A-C is electric ordiesel powered. Accordingly, the datavan is adapted or configured toengage a combination of diesel-powered components and electric-poweredcomponents in an interchangeable manner. For example, the datavan isassociated with switching components in switchgear 112A, for switchingbetween the diesel-powered components and the electric-poweredcomponents upon determination by the controller of a type of a connectedcomponent (i.e., either diesel-powered or electric-powered component).In an example, information from connected sub-components may besufficient to determine if a connected component is diesel-powered orelectric-powered. In one instance, such information may includeelectrical signals—voltage or current signals, understood to a person ofordinary skill, with different ranges in each of the diesel-powered orelectric-powered instances.

The switching components of the switchgear 212A, as in the case of theexample of FIG. 1, may be transfer-switching components for switchingbetween components depending on a monitored signal in the control module204A—that an associated component has failed or is inactive, forinstance. In a further example, if the associated component is notdrawing a steady current or is not on a steady voltage, a determinationin the control module 204A may be that the switching component orconnected equipment is improperly functioning and a back-up component oran electric or diesel alternative may be needed to compensate by beingbrought on board. In an example, information from connectedsub-components within equipment or connected components 204-224 may besufficient to determine if a connected component is diesel-powered orelectric-powered. In one instance, such information may includeelectrical signals—voltage or current signals, understood to a person ofordinary skill, with different ranges in each of the diesel-powered orelectric-powered instances.

While failure or inactivation of an electrical component may be byexcessive load causing a tripped breaker, a diesel pump may face failureor inactivation by a change in the operative parameters, for instance.When a replacement pump is an electric pump, a pump control software ofthe control module 204A may inform the switchgear 212A (e.g., a relay inthe switchgear) to close an associated breaker and an associatedfracturing pump's PLC may enable a variable frequency drive (VFD), whichoperates an electrical motor. The switchgear 212A may be one or moretrailers in the hybrid fracturing fleet. As such, the switchgear 212Amay be a power distribution hub used for load sharing for multiplegenerators (e.g., power sources 112 and 212) and for distribution tomultiple transformers (e.g., transformers 112B and 212B). The presentdisclosure also supports implementations of the switchgear used with atransformer and a VFD in the electric pump units 210. In suchimplementations, the switchgear is only associated with the electricalpowered components.

The datavan 204, therefore, supports switching using resources of acontrol module 204A, which may be software in an aspect, to allowdifferent controls and information displays for differently poweredfracturing pumps. In particular, the software of the control module 204Ais able to distinguish requirements of an electric pump that has notransmission gears for shifting and a diesel pump has no motor phasewinding temperatures to monitor, while finding a common parameter tocompensate for the change from a diesel to an electrical component. Acommon parameter may be the fluid displaced instead of the pump'sspecific ratings. Further, as different diesel pumps have differenttransmission gear ratios and engine RPM limits, and different electricpumps have different horse power and temperature limits, finding andutilizing the common parameter to control components from the datavanremoves human intervention and improves performance of the hydraulicfracturing fleet. A person of ordinary skill reading the presentdisclosure would recognize its applicability to use other parametersthat may contribute to a determination of an electrical versus a dieselmotor, and would be able to use the embodiments herein to determinewhich parameters improve the determination for the connected equipment,and which parameters may be used across the connected equipment as acommon parameter to make such a determination.

Further, the diesel-powered components and the electric-poweredcomponents 204-228A-C include at least one back-up component (e.g.,reference numerals 216 and 224) that is either or both of diesel-poweredand electric-powered. Wireline equipment 206, hydraulic fracturing pumps208, 210, blenders 214, 216, hydration units 218, 220, sand equipment222, and a boost pump 224 may be made available in diesel and electricalternatives. Furthermore, both of the diesel and electric alternativesmay be available for redundant (e.g., parallel) support, as previouslydiscussed. In the redundant or parallel support, the electricalcomponents may form a micro-grid, as illustrated in the example ofFIG. 1. However, a micro-grid may be also operated with a single gasturbine generator, multiple gas turbine generators, multiple dieselgenerators, and/or a combination of multiple gas turbine generators anddiesel generators. An electric power source 212 provides power via aswitchgear 212A and transformer 212B, which are both optional, dependingon the amperages and voltages provided and used by the variouscomponents to service one or more wellheads 202. A person of ordinaryskill would recognize that a single wellhead 202 is illustrated as anexample, but additional wellheads may be serviced in parallel orsubstantially in parallel by the hybrid fracturing fleet of blockschematic 200. As in the case of FIG. 1, the electric power source 212of FIG. 2 may include an overhead powerline, diesel generator, a naturalgas engine generator, or a combination of these sources.

FIG. 2 additionally illustrates use of internet or other data network230 to communicate remote data between the datavan and a remote stationvia the internet 230. The internet 230 may be by satellite or mobiledata using 3G®, 4G®, 5G®, or LTE®. A station in the datavan 204 may beavailable for a pump operator. Multi-pump controls are available to thepump operator to control the electric or the diesel pumps 208, 210, 224,or both the electric and the diesel pumps. Also, when communicationcables or other communication channels 226B are used with the datavan204 (for physical plug-in connectivity or wireless connectivity) andwith the equipment 204-224 to communicate data, a controller in thedatavan 204 can recognize the equipment 204-226 as either diesel orelectric—for example, recognizing a connected pump as a diesel pump 208or an electric pump 210 (also for boost pump 224). The physical plug-inor wireless connectivity engages the interchangeable combination ofdiesel-powered and electric-powered components and their back-ups sothat a controller (or control equipment) may be able to gather and usedata received from the components or equipment. While lines 226A areillustrated as from electric power source 212, a person of ordinaryskill reading the present disclosure will understand that these lines226A, 226B may also include data connectivity to communicate with thedatavan 204 and for the datavan 204 to communicate with a remote stationvia internet 230.

To appropriately monitor and control different equipment 204-224, thecontrol equipment 204A in the datavan 204 may be equipped to work withmultiple different types of equipment 204-224. The control equipment204A may be able to use the hybrid/interchangeable combination ofcomponents 204-224 by switching between the components depending onmonitored signals. For example, when controlling diesel pump 208, thecontrols in the datavan 204 are configured with the capability torecognize input that is associated with gear and speed of an associatedengine for providing the requisite control. In an example of such anoperation, the control equipment 204A on the datavan 204 may beprogrammed to recognize that a particular diesel motor, that may be inthe diesel powered hydraulic fracturing pump 208 or the other units214-224, should be running in second gear and at a speed of 1900revolutions per min (rpm). Appropriate adjustments may be made from thecontrol equipment 204A of the datavan 204 if there are any changes fromthe expected conditions for the motor. In a similar manner, for anelectric pump, the control equipment 204A of the datavan 204 isconfigured to recognize that there is a variable frequency drive in theelectric powered hydraulic fracturing pump 210 or the other units214-224 that requires a particular speed command, such as, for example,from about 800 to 900 rpm. The control module (and associated controlequipment) 204A of the datavan 204 allows for an operator to group pumpsin the equipment 204-224 together as necessary or desirable, and givejoint or individual commands to the distinct motors of the equipment204-224.

In addition to the above, one or more blenders 214, 216 may be used incommunication with the datavan 204. The datavan 204, via its controlequipment 204A, may be configured to recognize that the blender 214, 216is electric or diesel powered. When multiple blenders 214, 216 arecommunicating with the datavan 204, and the main blender fails, a backupblender can be brought on line—either being electric or diesel. A personof ordinary skill would recognize, upon reading the present disclosurethat each piece of equipment 204-224 may be present in redundantform—i.e., additional diesel pumps to back up diesel pump 208 oradditional electric pumps to back up electric pump 210, and even hybridback-ups of an electric pump for backing up a diesel pump andvice-versa. The datavan 204 can therefore accommodate control module(and associated equipment) 204A that is configured for both diesel andelectric equipment 204-224 and that can switch back and forth betweenthe two types of equipment, as needed, depending on the individual setupat the wellsite. In an example, control module 204A may include aninterface that is a graphical user interface (GUI) or a human-machineinterface (HMI).

Furthermore, the hybrid fracturing fleet (or block schematic) 200 mayinclude a hydration unit 218 that may be required on site. The hydrationunit 218 may be either electric or diesel powered. The control equipment204A in the datavan 204 and the communications connections can controlany type of hydration unit 218 in a similar manner to that describedabove for the blenders 214, 216 and the pump motors 208, 210. The sameis also applicable for control of diesel and electric chemical additiveunits 220, chemical dry add units, sand equipment 222 and wireline andwireline cranes 206.

In some embodiments of the technology, the datavan 204 uses controlequipment 204A to control diesel and electric equipment 204-224 usingmultiple stations including: 1) a pump operator station, which may bedesignated as a multi-pump hydraulic fracturing pump control station; 2)a service supervisor station, which may be used to control blenderequipment 214, 216, hydration equipment 218, chemical additive equipment220, and sand station 222; 3) a technical professional station, whichmay be used for data logging and quality control; 4) a pump downstation, which may be used when performing zipper hydraulic fracturingoperations or during wireline pump down operations happening on onewell, while main pumping operations are concurrently happening on asecond well; 5) customer seating; and 6) a laboratory for fluid,chemical, and proppant testing (e.g., reference numeral 304 in FIG. 3supports both aspects (5) and (6) for customers and company works intheir processes to direct operation and different service companies thatare often on-site, including pressure pumping operators/operations,wireline operators/operations, flow back operators/operations, watertransfer operators/operations, sand logistics operators/operations,chemical logistics operators/operations, fuel operators/operations,etc.). Each of these stations may be built with the capability tocontrol integrated diesel and integrated electric equipment 204-224.

FIG. 3 is an example layout 300 of a datavan to monitor and controlhydraulic fracturing fleets in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. As operational area is limited, an optimal layout of adatavan is considered beneficial, as a person of ordinary skill wouldrecognize from this disclosure, to support the additional hybridfracturing features disclosed. The detailed view of a datavan 204 ofFIG. 2, for instance, illustrates features available to configure forcontrolling both diesel and electric equipment with multiple stations.The datavan in the layout 300 may be powered either by electrical shorepower or by a diesel generator. Shore power may be provided by amicro-grid, as in the manner disclosed in the implementations of FIGS. 1and 2—or by a secondary external generator. For example, the datavan 300may rely on an on-board diesel generator to provide itself power ifelectric shore power is not available, for instance. In addition, eachindividual piece of equipment 306A-D on the datavan can typically becontrolled multiple different ways including: 1) centrally, from thedatavan; 2) locally, on the unit 302A-D; 3) remotely, from a remotecontrol suitcase; and/or 4) remotely, from a laptop at a remote station.The present disclosure enables application of each of the abovealternate control methods from the datavan and external to the datavan.Individual equipment and operator 302A/306A may be located in apump-down station that may concurrently operate the connected equipmentwith a second well. However, the present disclosure provides remotecontrolled functions in other locations in the datavan, such as inequipment and operator 306D/302D, which is an assigned station adjacentto a primary pump control operator.

Personnel 302A-D need not be located within the datavan. Furthermore,although the present disclosure applies towards control of diesel and ofelectric equipment, it is to be understood to a person of ordinary skillreading the present disclosure, that similar processes may apply toequipment powered by any source. In addition, the use of the electricaloption advances a feature to safeguard equipment in the datavan in viewof the optimal space adjustments. For example, server rack 310 sitsadjacent to lab sink 308, and so, waterproof and dustproof covers oraccess doors are provided in the datavan for safeguarding the switchingcomponents of the datavan. In an example, equipment 306A-D may includethe controller for determining a type of a connected component to thedatavan. As previously disclosed, the type is associated with thediesel-powered components and the electric-powered components. Further,equipment 306A-D may include the control module and associatedcomponents for communicating with the switchgear for switching betweenthe diesel-powered components and the electric-powered components upondetermination by the controller of the type of the connected component.In addition, the controller and the switching components may furtherinclude multi-pump controls 306C, 306D for controlling a diesel or anelectric pump in the interchangeable combination of diesel-poweredcomponents and electric-powered components.

The present invention described herein, therefore, is well adapted tocarry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned, aswell as others inherent therein. While a presently preferred embodimentof the invention has been given for purposes of disclosure, numerouschanges exist in the details of procedures for accomplishing the desiredresults. For example, other the recesses can be put into arrangementsother than those described, such as all being in a vertical or otherarrangement. These and other similar modifications will readily suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art, and are intended to beencompassed within the spirit of the present invention disclosed hereinand the scope of the appended claims.

In the various embodiments of the disclosure described, a person havingordinary skill in the art will recognize that alternative arrangementsof components, units, conduits, and fibers could be conceived andapplied to the present invention.

The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents, unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise.

Examples of computer-readable medium used in the datavan and in thecommunications achieved in the present embodiments can include but arenot limited to: one or more nonvolatile, hard-coded type media, such asread only memories (ROMs), CD-ROMs, and DVD-ROMs, or erasable,electrically programmable read only memories (EEPROMs); recordable typemedia, such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CD-R/RWs, DVD-RAMs,DVD-R/RWs, DVD+R/RWs, flash drives, memory sticks, and other newer typesof memories; and transmission type media such as digital and analogcommunication links. For example, such media can include operatinginstructions, as well as instructions related to the systems and themethod steps described previously and can operate on a computer. It willbe understood by those skilled in the art that such media can be atother locations instead of, or in addition to, the locations describedto store computer program products, e.g., including software thereon. Itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that the various softwaremodules or electronic components described previously can be implementedand maintained by electronic hardware, software, or a combination of thetwo, and that such embodiments are contemplated by embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hydraulic fracturing fleet, comprising: adatavan for engaging an interchangeable combination of diesel-poweredcomponents and electric-powered components, the diesel-poweredcomponents and the electric-powered components comprising at least oneback-up component that is diesel-powered, electric-powered, or acombination of diesel-powered and electric-powered; a controllerexecuting a software module for determining a type of a connectedcomponent to the datavan by an indication provided to the softwaremodule by the connected component, the type associated with thediesel-powered components and the electric-powered components; andswitching components associated with the datavan for communicating withthe software module to receive control gear levels for a diesel engineor frequency levels for a variable frequency drive (VFD) of an electricpump, and for switching between the diesel-powered components and theelectric-powered components,. upon determination by the controller ofthe type of the connected component.
 2. The hydraulic fracturing fleetof claim 1, wherein: multi-pump controls in the datavan for controllinga diesel or an electric pump in the interchangeable combination of thediesel-powered components and the electric-powered components.
 3. Thehydraulic fracturing fleet of claim 1, further comprising: the switchingcomponents configured to receive engine revolutions per minute (RPM) forthe diesel engine and voltage levels for the VFD, the switchingcomponents configured to control the gear levels and the frequencylevels based at least in part on requirements of the hydraulicfracturing fleet.
 4. The hydraulic fracturing fleet of claim 1, furthercomprising: electric and diesel blenders in the interchangeablecombination of the diesel-powered components and the electric-poweredcomponents, the electric and the diesel blenders associated with back-upcounterpart blenders.
 5. The hydraulic fracturing fleet of claim 1,further comprising: a pump operator station comprised in the datavan forenabling operator control of the interchangeable combination of thediesel-powered components and the electric-powered components or ofback-up counterpart components that are either diesel-powered orelectric-powered.
 6. The hydraulic fracturing fleet of claim 1, furthercomprising: a pump down station configured to operate with a second wellconcurrently with the interchangeable combination of the diesel-poweredcomponents and the electric-powered components being in operation with afirst well.
 7. The hydraulic fracturing fleet of claim 1, furthercomprising: a data network coupled to the datavan for transmittingon-site data associated with the hydraulic fracturing fleet to a remotestation and for transmitting remote data from the remote station to thedatavan.
 8. The hydraulic fracturing fleet of claim 1, furthercomprising: waterproof covers provided in the datavan for safeguardingthe switching components of the datavan.
 9. The hydraulic fracturingfleet of claim 1, further comprising: a redundant diesel or electricpower source to power the datavan from within the hydraulic fracturingfleet or from a remote station.
 10. A method of operating hydraulicfracturing fleet, comprising: engaging, using a datavan, aninterchangeable combination of diesel- powered components andelectric-powered components, the diesel-powered components and theelectric-powered components comprising at least one back-up componentthat is diesel-powered, electric-powered, or a combination ofdiesel-powered and electric-powered; determining, by a software moduleexecuting on a controller, a type of a connected component to thedatavan by an indication provided to the software module by theconnected component, the type associated with the diesel-poweredcomponents and the electric-powered components; and switching, byswitching components associated with the datavan, between thediesel-powered components and the electric-powered components upondetermination by the controller of the type of the connected component,the switching components communicating with the software module toreceive control gear levels for a diesel engine of the connectedcomponent or to receive frequency levels for a variable frequency drive(VFD) of an electric pump of the connected component.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: controlling, by multi-pump controls in thedatavan, the diesel engine or the electric pump in the interchangeablecombination of the diesel-powered components and the electric-poweredcomponents.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: receivinginstructions for the gear levels and for an engine revolutions perminute (RPM) for the diesel engine or for the frequency levels andvoltage levels for the VFD; and controlling the gear levels thefrequency levels, the RPM, or the voltage levels based at least in parton requirements of the hydraulic fracturing fleet.
 13. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: providing electric and diesel blenders inthe interchangeable combination of the diesel-powered components and theelectric-powered components, the electric and the diesel blendersassociated with back-up counterpart blenders.
 14. The method of claim10, further comprising: enabling, from a pump operator station comprisedin the datavan, operator control of the interchangeable combination ofthe diesel-powered components and the electric-powered components, or ofback-up counterpart components that are either diesel powered orelectric-powered.
 15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:operating, using a pump down station, a second well with theinterchangeable combination of the diesel-powered components and theelectric-powered components, the diesel-powered components and theelectric-powered components being in concurrent operation with a firstwell.
 16. The method of claim 10, further comprising: transmitting,using a data network coupled to the datavan, on-site data associatedwith the hydraulic fracturing fleet to a remote station; andtransmitting remote data from the remote station to the datavan.
 17. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising: covering, using waterproofcovers in the datavan, the switching components for safeguardingcommunications to the electric-powered components.
 18. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: providing redundant power, from aredundant diesel or electric power source of the hydraulic fracturingfleet or a remote station, to power the datavan.